I work 80 hours a week, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Make no mistake: only maybe 45 of those hours are for my actual job. I'm fortunate to have a manager who sets clear expectations for how often my workday should carry on past 6 pm, and the answer is, "Not often." But that's not to say I stop working at 6 pm.
I spent 30 hours last week recording a new album.
I spent 5 hours last week editing photos for my photography portfolio.
I spend at least 5 hours a week writing these posts.
Conversationally, I get when someone asks me how many hours a week I work, they're asking about my actual employment. But conceptually, I think it's wrong to limit the scope of "work" to just things you receive a W-2 for. It's not like I'm closing my laptop at the end of the workday, watching eight episodes of MILF Manor, and going to bed. I'm spending my time doing things that not only give me deep fulfillment but also are mentally demanding enough to genuinely be considered "work."
I found it fascinating in Tripp Mickle's new book After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul that one of the key traits of Jony Ive's design team at Apple was that everyone "obsessed over their hobbies," whether that was discovering great coffee or making surfboards or running a record label or DJing. This is arguably the most successful design team in the history of capitalism, and all the employees sound equally excited about what's happening outside the studio as what's happening inside. Workplaces shouldn't just accommodate people having dedicated hobbies; workplaces should encourage it and actively seek out job candidates who do have them because people with passions are people who understand the importance of injecting care and attention into their work, and every workplace wants that.
I can't tell you exactly how my love for writing and recording music impacts the way I go about my actual job. I just know it does. I just know something about figuring out how exactly to layer my electric guitar tracks in a mix to get the explosive, euphoric sound I'm hearing in my head rewires my brain in a certain way that gives me a different perspective and way of thinking than anyone else on my team. And I can say the same for my photography and my writing, and I would say the same for any other coworkers with dedicated hobbies. All power to people who can grind through 80-hour work weeks at their job, but for the rest of us mere mortals, I think the important thing is just to do something with your leisure time that warrants your attention and care. And if you pick the right things, you can work 80 hours a week without it feeling like an 80-hour work week.
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